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If you've lived in Germany, or you learnt Hochdeutsch at school, you may be surprised by some of the language differences between Austria and parts of Germany.

Austria's education ministry has even launched a scheme to preserve the country's own unique version of Deutsch - which it says is increasingly endangered by the spread of mainland German through films and television.

Austrians and Germans have no trouble understanding each other, but there are many words and phrases that mark Austrian German out as different.

And when Austria joined the EU, it insisted its version of the language be given protected status.

So, don't be surprised if an Austrian waiter asks you if you want Schlagobers (cream) with your coffee, rather than the more German Sahne.

And to sound like a real Austrian you'd better know your way around an Erdäpfel Salat (potato salad), and not start talking about how much you love Kartoffel.

Here's The Local's pick of the top 12 Austrian German words. Let us know if we've missed any of your favourites.